


Some Type of Love

by kiwigirl



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Ficlet Collection, Fluff, Parent Pepper Potts, Pepper Potts Feels, Pepperony Week, Protective Pepper Potts, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-16
Updated: 2017-07-16
Packaged: 2018-12-02 18:19:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 4,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11514855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiwigirl/pseuds/kiwigirl
Summary: A series of ficlets written for Pepperony Week 2017, originally posted on Tumblr





	1. touch

**Author's Note:**

> day 1: touch  
> day 2: pre-relationship  
> day 3: family/kids  
> day 4: quotes/lyrics  
> day 5: post civil-war (not posted on Tumblr)  
> day 6: au  
> day 7: free choice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> can be found on Tumblr [here](http://backwardsandinhighheels.tumblr.com/post/162781776173/pepperonyweek17-day-1-touch)

Those who worked with Tony Stark learnt he had one hard rule: Tony didn’t like to be handed things. Papers, tools, power cords - all were best left on a nearby flat surface. Anyone who handed Tony things would receive a blank stare as he noted and ignored them.

He knew they wrote it off as an idiosyncrasy of a flawed genius, the spoiled dilettante in his personal bubble. He let them believe it - as long as they complied, there was no chance that they would touch him.

He could shmooze with the best of them. The tabloids could testify he had no trouble getting up close and personal with the hottest starlets and debutantes. But in his workshop, with his shields down and the sheen of honest grease on his fingers, letting anyone else in was unthinkable. Any touch would be strictly on his own terms and never hand-to-hand.

Until Pepper.

She’d done her research, never tried to force a memo nor a pen on him. She was competent, efficient, and _protected_ him. After his time in Afghanistan and the stand-off with Stane, he thought nothing of letting her into his home, his workshop, his life.

He didn’t realise the first time he plucked a stylus from her fingers to better note his observations, or the second when he took the towel before she put it beside him. (That she’d been _this_ close to throwing it at his head had been a more pressing concern)

When some SHIELD lackey tried to get his signature, he refused the marker, only to take it three seconds later from Pepper. He noticed halfway through his name and stopped in surprise,  dooming all future signatures to be marked as forgeries.

He experimented, after that. Asked Jarvis to replay her reactions when he took the patent application from her. Steeled himself to ‘accidentally’ brush her fingers when reaching for his coffee.

The first time he held her hand, it was during a movie night, rewatching _Short Circuit_. He felt the jolt of surprise before her fingers closed around his and she’d settled closer against his shoulder. He let go seconds later to fiddle with a new capacitor for DumE, but it was enough.

Tony Stark doesn’t like people handing him things, but Pepper’s not ‘people’. She’s better.


	2. pre-relationship

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> can be found on Tumblr [here](http://backwardsandinhighheels.tumblr.com/post/162820625979/pepperonyweek17-day-2-pre-relationship)

_Tony Stark was a legend._

Child prodigy, genius inventor, head of Stark Industries and a man so far off Virginia Potts’ radar, he didn’t even make a blip. She was far more interested in getting her Master’s in Business Administration, graduating top of her class and being offered a place at four different companies on the Forbes 500 list. Her temper gave her a nickname but very few friends. As he partied his way across the globe, she learnt to smile as she bumped her head on the glass ceiling again and again. As he invented new and better ways to kill, she considered a move into the not-for-profit sector.

_Tony Stark was a menace._

Fresh from yet another interview with a manager who leered across the desk and left her feeling dirty, Pepper was nearly run down by one of Stark’s self-driving cars. Spotting the man himself in the back seat, she gave him a dressing down that earned her a job offer on the spot. She brushed it off, considered it a joke until the flowers arrived.

The apology note was written on the back of a letter from HR. With her rent coming due and the office that required four-inch heels waiting on her reply, she decided to take the plunge. (She’d been wearing heels regularly since her college days, but she appreciated having a choice about it). After all, she wouldn’t actually have to work with the man, would she?

_Tony Stark was a nuisance._

He seemed to spend far too much of his time finding new ways to slip her notice and break his own self-imposed rules. He ate odd combinations of food at all times of the day and insisted that she join him, at least for a few bites. He liked to sleep in his workshop, leaving piles of blankets for her to slip on around every corner. He spent an entire week in the basement of Stark Industries, only communicating with her via a drone he nicknamed Robota.

_Tony Stark was an enigma._

When her aunt died, he gave her all the bereavement time she asked for and a week extra, no questions asked. He forgot her birthday but remembered to say thank-you, most of the time. After HR screwed up and left her to pull an all-nighter to finish some paperwork, he’d shown up at her office with coffee. She hadn’t realised he knew where her office was.

_Tony Stark was missing._

It was supposed to be a routine marketing mission - meet the troops, pose for photos, watch the contracts roll over and the bank accounts fill. She’d had to find out from news reports, of course. No one tells the staff anything. They had told her not to come into work, but she’d turned up anyway. Clutched her competency and efficiency like a blanket and wielded them as a shield. If anyone asked, she told them she was aiming to be PA for his replacement.

_Tony Stark was home._

She greeted him with a quip and tried not to cry into his shoulder. He was thin - too thin - but there was a light in his eyes she’d never glimpsed before, along with one in his chest that gave her pause. Sometime soon, he would tell her the truth of what happened over midnight coffees in the bowels of his workshop, scrubbing the sleep from his eyes as wonders flew from his mind to the world around them. Knowing he would share his secrets with her gave Pepper another revelation.

_Tony Stark was hers._

Of course, she was his as well. She'd been his for years, just waiting for him to notice.


	3. family/kids

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> can be found on Tumblr [here](http://backwardsandinhighheels.tumblr.com/post/162860401925/pepperonyweek17-day-3-familykids)

Looking up from her work, Pepper felt her skin prickle. She had asked for quiet, but now it was too quiet. Something was wrong.

“Maria?”

Silence. Tamping down the panic, she pushed away from the desk and tried again. “Maria, sweetie? Where are you?”

A giggle. Pepper spun, trying to pinpoint the source, ducking to check under the table - not easy, at this stage. Hauling herself back to her feet, she happened to glance up and her mouth fell open in shock.

* * *

He was wrangling an errant carburettor (and winning) when he caught the sound of someone else in the garage. Beneath the whirring and humming of machinery were footsteps, coming closer and closer. He knew that tread, though he learnt it as the click-clack of heels on the office floor. They came to a halt by his feet and though he could not see them, he knew one toe would be tapping away.

Apprehensive, he braced himself on the car above him and shoved, propelling him out to look up at his wife.

Cool grey eyes regarded him until he began to squirm. “Tony,” she said, dangerously calm. “Did you build our daughter a suit?”

He thought it was a bit of a silly question, given the metallic pink-clad toddler in her mother’s arms. Fortunately for all involved, he was too smart to say as much.

“It was for her protection,” he tried, hoping to make her understand. “A way out that no-one knows about.”

Pepper sighed, lowering herself to a nearby bench. Tony scrambled to his feet to help, clearing an errant screwdriver from her way.

“Did you have to keep it a secret?” she asked, a bit plaintively.

“I wanted it to be a surprise.”

“Well, it was. She was playing hide and seek in the ceiling. Please tell me there are no weapons on it.”

“There isn’t,” he assured her. “And there’s a tracking device, and - oops!” Reaching out, he caught their daughter by the foot as she made a break for it. Tugging, he lowered her back to his lap. “We agreed you wouldn’t go flying without me. You’re in big trouble, missy.”

Maria giggled, brown curls bouncing. “Tat’s what mommy said. Daddy’s in biiig twubble!”

Tony winced. “Well, we can be in trouble together. Troublemakers get ice cream, right?”

Two sets of beseeching brown eyes turned on Pepper, whose stern demeanour only lasted a few seconds before melting. “Maybe later,” she allowed. “For now, troublemakers get to tidy up the workshop and the nursery because mommy can’t bend over too well. I can’t believe I let you talk me into this again.”

“Way I remember it, there wasn’t much talking,” Tony grinned. “There was a lot of -”

“Tony!” Pepper interrupted, flushing. One hand went over his mouth as Maria looked between her parents with interest. Tony took the opportunity to lick Pepper's palm, which she retracted with a shriek. 

“Boys are trouble,” Pepper told Maria seriously, wiping her hand on Tony’s grease-stained shirt. “Stay away from them.”

He eyed her expanded stomach. “That’s going to make things difficult in a couple of month’s time, isn’t it?”

Tony laughed out loud as elegant, poised, dignified Pepper Stark née Potts screwed up her face and stuck her tongue out at him. “Come on kiddo,” he said, settling Maria on his hip and offering a hand to Pepper. “Let’s get you out of the suit and this place tidied up before your mommy’s face freezes like that.”

“And then ice cream?”

Pepper pressed a kiss to Maria’s forehead and a longer one on Tony’s lips. “Yes, munchkin. And then ice cream.”


	4. quotes/lyrics

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> can be found on Tumblr [here](http://backwardsandinhighheels.tumblr.com/post/162899702733/pepperonyweek17-day-4-quoteslyrics)

_“Let’s face it, this is not the worst thing you’ve caught me doing.”_

Pepper pushed through the big double doors, dreading what she would find in the office beyond.

Tony leaned over the desk, building the fire ever higher with small strips of paper.

“Mr Stark, did you sign those forms I filled out for you? I left them on your - oh.”

He had time to look up guiltily before the sprinklers went off.

* * *

“I-” Pepper blinked at the robots in front of her. She’d seen one of them before; another had appendages that looked familiar, but in a different configuration. As a group? She honestly had no idea, but Tony was draped across three of them and snoring.

She backed out of the room and shut the door.

* * *

A dart came whistling at her, missing her cheek by a matter of inches and falling into the corridor behind her.

“Sorry! Didn’t think anyone would be using the door.”

She turned and let the door swing shut to see a photo of Howard Stark already skewered with darts.

* * *

“Mr Stark?” She leaned over his desk to shake him. Normally he startled awake when she got within three feet of him, but this time he didn’t stir. One sniff was enough to tell her why - along with a glance at the empty bottles beside him. The phial of party drugs, however, had her calling for help.

* * *

“I have the reports you asked for.” She offered the reports around the table, first to Tony and then to the rest of the Board. As she returned to his side, she bit the inside of her cheek to keep a straight face. “If that’s everything?”

Back at her desk, she sent a hasty email.

_Mr Stark_

_Please refrain from drawing Board Members as baboons, even if there is a startling resemblance_

* * *

There was no sign, no hanger on the door, no red light at the lock to indicate a ‘do not disturb’.

There was, however, a busty blonde on his lap, a brunette on his desk, and copious amounts of clothing scattered around.

None of them noticed as she made her retreat.

* * *

“I have here the annual stock forecasts,” the portly older man said, fumbling with the remote for the projector. Tony leaned forward eagerly - a nice change from his poorly concealed yawns and bored indifference. The presenter was flattered.

Three slides in, graphs transitioned into a music video as some 80’s crooner assured listeners he was no stranger to love.

At the back of the room, Pepper tried not to bash her head against the wall. It helped to imagine doing so to Tony later.

* * *

For once, Tony was hard at work on his computer. He barely looked up as she delivered his lunch. Lines of code scrolled down his screen as he muttered to himself. A picture flashed up, almost too quickly for her to catch. She decided it was probably better not to ask.

The next day, a laughing Rhodey related how all the computers at the Department of Defence had their backgrounds changed to BaconCat. She decided it was _definitely_ better not to ask.

* * *

“Mr Stark, _please_ do not bring paintball guns to Board Meetings.”

* * *

No, being unmasked as Iron Man was not the worst thing she’d caught him doing. Probably.


	5. post civil-war

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Never published before, because I was too busy to finish this on the day!

Tony turned the phone over and over in his hands. It was a poor excuse for an apology: part of him wanted to smash it, and that part of him might yet get its way. The rest of him was back in the Raft, seeing his one-time teammates behind bars with the worst the world had to offer. He didn’t regret the Accords - the Avengers needed oversight, and Cap wasn’t cutting it - but everything that came afterwards? The manhunt, the airport, Siberia? Yeah, that hadn’t gone too well. His chest ached with remembered pain; somewhere in the facility, Cap's shield gathered dust.

His office door swung open and a familiar figure stepped through. She carried a stack of papers and a stormy expression, and for a moment he wondered if the last few years had all been a dream. If he could do it over… well, he didn’t know what he would do differently. It had all made sense at the time, except for her. She was the only thing that didn’t make sense and the only thing he wouldn’t change at all.

“Tony,” Pepper said, dropping the papers on his desk. “We need to talk.”

"Are you going to yell at me? Because there have been a lot of people yelling at me and-" his voice broke- "I don't think I can take it from you as well."

Just like that, Pepper deflated. "Oh, Tony."

He didn't know who moved first - in the end, it didn't matter. They soon stood together in the middle of the room, her arms wrapped around him and his around her. 

"I had a whole speech planned out," she murmured, her breath warm against his neck. "About talking to lawyers before signing anything. About taking the entire world on your shoulders until you jump at the chance to let someone else do it for a while. About trusting the UN more than you trust yourself..."

He didn't say anything, couldn't say anything, just held her tighter. He knew they were on a break and that was code for _broken_ , but it was so good to hold her. He'd missed this, missed her, and all too soon it would be over and she would be gone again, leaving the ghost of  _I told you so_ in her wake.

Maybe if he held on tight enough, she wouldn't leave.

They stood together for a long time, the phone lying forgotten on the desk behind him.


	6. au

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AU where Tony and Pepper never admitted their feelings to each other. I might expand it later...  
> can be found on Tumblr [here](http://backwardsandinhighheels.tumblr.com/post/162979500638/pepperonyweek17-day-6-au)

 

“Oh no. Oh, no no no.”

Tony followed the sound of panic to the office next door. “What’s up, Pep?”

Pepper straightened, tapping furiously at her screen to minimise the email program open. “Nothing.”

“I thought we agreed there would be no secrets between us.”

“No, we agreed you wouldn’t hide potentially life-threatening situations like palladium poisoning. This is nothing like that.”

“Then what is it? Who was that email from?”

She sighed. “My sister. She’s coming to visit.”

“Is that a problem? I mean, I never had any siblings to hate, but I thought you got along with your family.”

“I do. I love my sister. Only…”

“Yeah?”

“ItoldherIhaveaboyfriendandshewantstomeethim.”

“Gesundheit. Oh, were you trying to say something?”

Pepper buried her face in her hands, ears tinged red. Tony was glad his normally unflappable PA couldn’t see how amusing this was for him. Her next words came out muffled, but audible. “I said, I’ve been telling Pen I have a boyfriend and now she wants to meet him.” Tony wiped the smile off his face as she looked up, hope in her eyes. “You’re single, right?”

“I- uh…”

“What am I saying, of course, you’re not single. I schedule a different date for you every week. I’ll have to find someone else to be my fake boyfriend and I’ll probably have to pay a stranger because this job keeps me too busy to have actual friends.”

“I’ll do it.”

She looked up so fast, he was worried she would give herself whiplash. “You what?”

“I said I’ll do it,” he repeated, warming up to the idea. “Is there a reason you can’t tell her you broke up?”

“She’ll want to have a heart-to-broken-heart over ice cream and I can’t lie to her for that long. If she thinks I’m okay, she won’t push. You’ll do it? Really?”

“Yeah, why not? It’ll be fun.”

* * *

They waited together at the airport, Tony in shades that did nothing to hide who he was and Pepper more casual than he’d ever seen her in jeans and a blouse, though she still wore heels.

“Hold my hand,” he ordered, as they entered the arrivals hall.

“What?”

“You want this to look real? Hold my hand. That’s what people who are dating do, right?”

Though she eyed him suspiciously, she held the proffered hand as she studied the board. When she identified the right gate and started walking, he fell into step with her, joined hands swinging between them.

They got to the gate as a short blonde exited, suitcase by her side. When she spotted Pepper, her face brightened and she hurried over. Pepper let go of him to do that squeal-and-hug that he’d seen women do and he flexed his fingers, missing the contact.

Soon, the squealing died down and they both turned to him. “Pen, this is Tony, my boyfriend.”

He nodded in greeting as recognition filled her face. “You’re dating _Tony Stark_? No wonder you never gave me any real details Gin, this is _huge_! Mom and dad are absolutely going to flip.”

“No, they’re not, because you’re not going to tell them.”

Sensing an impending standoff, Tony grabbed Pepper’s hand again and looked at her sister. “So you’re the sister, huh?”

“Yeah, and you’re the boyfriend oh my gosh this is _unreal_. Hi, I’m Penny.”

“Short for Penelope?”

She grimaced. “Not exactly. Y’know how Gin’s Virginia? Like the State she was born in?”

Tony’s mind flicked through the rest of the States, came to a conclusion. “Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“Oh, that’s _rough_. You should sue your parents for child abuse. We can lend you some lawyers, can’t we, Pep?”

“No, Tony.”

“She says that a lot,” Tony confided. “I think she’s playing hard to get.”

Pepper snorted, which was not a sound he expected to hear from her. This fake boyfriend thing was all sorts of fascinating. “How’s it working?”

“I’m madly in love with you,” he assured her. “You are the best thing to ever happen to me and that includes that time I came third in a Robert Downey Jr lookalike contest.”

Penny made a strangled noise and he wondered if he’d laid it on too thick. “Oh, you two are so cute! Are you _sure_ I can’t tell mom and dad?”

“I’m sure,” Pepper told her, not looking at her sister. Her eyes were fixed on Tony and she looked a little pale.

Too late, he remembered Pepper could tell when he was lying.


	7. free choice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Set during Civil War, starting when Steve asks after Pepper.  
> can be found on Tumblr [here](http://backwardsandinhighheels.tumblr.com/post/163014245303/pepperonyweek17-day-7)

_“We are kinda - well, not kind of -”_

_“Pregnant?”_

_“ ~~No, definitely not.~~ ” “Well, yeah.”_

A grin split Steve’s face and he leaned across the table to pump Tony’s hand enthusiastically. “Congratulations!”

“Are you going to sign the-”

“Forget about those, Tony, you’re going to have a kid!”

“Steve, I-”

“Get your lawyers to deal with it. That’s what you pay them for, right?”

“But-”

“When’s the due date?”

Tony sighed. “October.”

“Six months, then? Six months until the world gets a little Tony.”

“Nah, the world wouldn’t be able to handle the awesome of two of me. It’s going to be a little Pepper.”

“Do you think the world can handle two Peppers?”

“Good point.” Tony grabbed his phone, hit speed dial. “Pepper? Yeah, Steve just pointed out that the world won’t be able to handle two of you. We’ve doomed the world to an overdose of awesome. Have you taken your pregnancy vitamins today? Okay, okay. No, I can be home in a couple of hours.” He pulled the phone away from his ear to look at Steve. “You want a ride back to New York?”

* * *

“Let me get that for you.”

Pepper threw up her hands in despair. “It was bad enough when it was just Tony, you know? I can get the door myself, I’m pregnant, not ill.”

“Technically, you’ve been both for three months,” Tony pointed out, two steps from opening the door himself. “The last four press releases have had to be via vidlink.”

“Ma always taught me to get the door for a lady,” Steve told her innocently. “Are you telling me I should go against her express wishes?”

“Have you been taking folic acid? The doc told my sister to take it when she was pregnant with all three of her kids.”

Pepper looked at Sam, horrified. “Oh no, not you _too.”_

* * *

“I can’t see it.”

“Show some respect, Steve. It’s not an ‘it’, that’s my future child.”

“Well, can you see your future child?”

“…no. Pepper?”

She took the tablet from him confidently. After a few seconds, the confidence faltered. “That’s odd, I- which scan is this?” She tapped at the screen as Tony reached for it with an expression of alarm.

Pepper held it out of his reach, one eyebrow raised. “Tony, why is the sonogram named ‘proof that Pepper Potts slept with me’?”                

* * *

“Are you mad? Because you can’t fire the guy twice but I can ruin his life. Everything is online these days - all you have to do is ask.”

“No, Tony.”

“Are you sure? Because the tabloid says he thought you were getting fat until the penny dropped.”

“Yes, Tony, I’m sure. Eventually, someone would’ve noticed all of Steve’s trips to Baby Depot.”

“Woulda thought he’d go for Carter’s”

She laughed. “Well, I- oh!”

“What is it? Are you okay? Is the baby coming early? Do I need to call the doctor?”

Pepper grabbed one of Tony’s flailing arms with a smile, placed it on her belly.

“What are you- oh. Oh, wow.”

* * *

“Tony? Tony, where are you?”

There was a yapping from somewhere in the workshop and her heart sank even as thwarted childhood hopes rose to the surface. “Is that a dog? You know I’m allergic. I’ll be in our apartment when you’re done.”

“No, no, wait!”

She peered into the depths of the workshop as Tony appeared between two machines, something in his arms. “Do you trust me?”

At his words, she stopped backing away. “Yes.”

As he got closer, the shape in his arms resolved itself into a puppy. A shiny, metallic puppy, frozen at attention. “Meet HARLEY.”

“HARLEY?” she asked, knowing his fondness for acronyms.

“Short for Hypo-Allergenic Robot, Life Exceeding Yeller.”

“Are you still bitter about that movie?”

“Don’t lie, you cried too. You wanna meet him?”

She nodded and he set the puppy on the ground at her feet and patted his head. HARLEY sprang to life, dashing around her feet, tail wagging madly.

“I remember what you said, about all kids deserving a pet-”

“We could’ve gotten a hamster,” she protested half-heartedly.

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that. HARLEY, sit!”

The puppy continued to paw at Pepper’s legs and her eyes filled with tears.

“Oh crap, no, Pep, I’ll upgrade his programming, I promise, we can train him-”

“I’m happy, you idiot,” she sniffled. “Stupid pregnancy hormones.”

* * *

“Surprise!”

Pepper shielded her eyes against the light as the blindfold was removed. Tony pressed a tissue into her hands and she dabbed at her eyes as she looked around, taking the nursery in, cursing her hormones yet again. A magnificent cradle sat underneath a hovering replica of the nine realms - at least, she hoped it was a replica. One wall was painted with an intricate mural of the New York skyline, another simulated the spires of Asgard. There was an entire wardrobe of clothes, including a fabric replica of the Iron Man suit. A miniature bow and arrow set sat above a mountain of toys and she made a mental note to put it away for a few years. She even spotted a dog bed for HARLEY beside a smaller mountain of toys.

“What do you think? I wasn’t sure about the double murals but Steve paints really fast.”

Pepper clasped her hands to her chest. “Oh, they’re perfect. It’s all perfect - what’s this?” She studied the cellophane wrapped basket on the floor with a little crease between her brows.

Tony shuffled his feet. “Oh, it’s something I found on the internet. It’s the things you might not think about getting until you need them at 2am and the kid is screaming. Cough syrup, diaper cream, teething tablets. Things like that.”

Pepper blinked in surprise. “Wow, you’ve really gone all out.”

“It’s the first kid in the Avengers, see, and I wanted to make sure - mmph.”

The belly made it a little harder to pull Tony in for a kiss, but Pepper had always been a very capable person.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was my first week-long thing and it's been super fun, if stressful and exhausting. Huge thanks to everyone who read, liked, and reblogged :) What was your favourite?


End file.
